Rumour: Amazon Android Appstore expected to launch March 22nd

A "trusted source" talking to Wired has revealed that the long-awaited Android Marketplace competitor from Amazon will be officially launched on Tuesday the 22nd of March.

This date ties in with the iOS launch of Angry Birds Rio, for which Amazon has an exclusive distribution deal for the Android version of the game. Or, in other words, the rumour sounds pretty likely.

The unnamed source also revealed to the website that people wanting to use the new service will be able to do so via both Amazon’s main web page as well as a dedicated app (which we guess will be made available to download on the Android Market, ironically).

Last week some early titbits of information leaked out about the new service, which is hoping to make shopping for Android apps easier for both consumers and developers, including the prices of a selection of apps.

While some, such as Call of Duty, were more expensive than their Android Market equivalents, other applications came out cheaper, suggesting there could either be a price war between the two services. At the very least there will be a genuine alternative to Google’s own distribution network.

We’ll have a more extensive look at the service when it (probably) launches tomorrow.